Elana, I think you practice humility more than you think...Looking at yourself, being honest with yourself, wanting to change the things you have identified in yourself as areas that you would like to improve upon...Those are all steps in practicing humility.
I see humility associated with the steps. Once we have embraced the understanding that I can't, He can and I'm going to let him, I think we start traveling a road to become more humble. As you and Teke have mentioned, it is about spirituality. In step 4 we perform a searching and fearless moral inventory; we admit our wrong doings to God and another human in step 5, become willing to have the defects of character removed in step 6 and then take that action...humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings. So as we go through this process, we are becoming more humble. We acknowledge our defects of character and want to change. And when we truly want that change, we are ready to humbly ask God's help.
I think that is the journey you are taking Elana. I really love reading your posts...they help me work my program too.
I like the quote below from Mother Teresa. Some of that is difficult for me to swallow all the time, but I think the more I practice being a spiritual person, the easier some of these acts become. I feel that I have improved in not being so judgemental and critical, but I still have a long way to go.
The challenge I find in her suggestions, is to be humble but not be a doormat...I think that if taken too literally, some of what she says may be thought of as being a doormat, but I think there is a way to do it with grace and humility and still be true to ourselves. It just takes lots of work. Hugs!
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these are a few of the ways we can practice humility: speak as little as possible of oneself. mind one's own business. avoid curiosity. do not want to manage other people's affairs. accept contradiction and correction cheerfully. pass over mistakes of others. accept blame when innocent. yield to the will of others. accept insults and injuries. accept being slighted, forgotten, and disliked. be kind and gentle even under provocation. do not seek to be specially loved and admired. never stand on one's dignity. yield in discussion even though one is right. choose always the hardest.